Records continue to fall as precipitation piles up in southeast Connecticut

Friday

Jan 28, 2011 at 12:01 AMJan 28, 2011 at 11:52 PM

A winter storm that blanketed the state with another blast of snow was blamed for motor vehicle accidents and aching backs among residents shoveling and looking for a place to deposit yet more snow.

A winter storm that blanketed the state with another blast of snow was blamed for motor vehicle accidents and aching backs among residents shoveling and looking for a place to deposit yet more snow.

State police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance said troopers responded to more than 2,263 calls and more than 200 accidents, including nine with injuries, since snow began falling on Wednesday.

“It was messy out there, but I think people responded well,” Vance said.

Norwich
For the ninth time this season, snowplows, trucks and tractors hit Norwich streets. The effort by the Public Works Department began at 7 a.m. Wednesday, and was still at nearly full force 24 hours later.

Public Works Director Barry Ellison said the deep snow not only was a strain to clear, it’s becoming a bigger problem of where to put it.

“If we keep getting storms like the last couple, we’re going to have to search out every possible piece of open space,” he said.

Although several spots have been used, public works is now moving much of the snow from the streets to an empty parking lot on Hamilton Avenue.

The around-the-clock work has paid off, however. While many communities were snowed in Thursday morning, the main thoroughfares in the city were plowed and driveable by 5 a.m., Ellison said

Ellison said many residents helped by observing the parking regulations, allowing the plows to work faster and more efficiently.

The William W. Backus Hospital reported just one snow-related injury, by a man who hurt his hand in a snowblower.

“Every winter we see snowblower injuries, and every winter we urge people not to stick their hands into a snowblower,” hospital spokesman Shawn Mawhiney said.

Mike Valentine, the dockmaster at American Wharf, was out early Thursday doing his own clearing, but instead of a plow, he used a boat.

With the three rivers and a harbor clogged with ice, Valentine worked to break the ice flows by ramming his boat up on top of the ice. By breaking the ice during high tide, Valentine hoped the river would carry it away before it could do any damage to the docks.
— Compiled by James Craven

Montville
Montville crews were kept busy for nearly 24 hours with the storm, after snow began falling Wednesday afternoon and driving conditions quickly deteriorated across town, Public Works Director Don Bourdeau said Thursday.

“We’ve been out all night,” he said. “All in all, I think we’ve done pretty good. The roads are adequate now, but the snow was coming down so fast, it was hard to keep up.”

Bourdeau said it was too early to know how much of a bite the most recent storm has taken out of the budget, but Mayor Joseph Jaskiewicz said Wednesday he’s expecting to deplete snow funds by early February.

“We’re probably going to be over (budget) after this storm,” he said.
— Compiled by Adam Benson

Griswold
All the shoveling has made some people experts.

“Spray Rain-X on your snow shovel and the snow won’t stick to it,” said Griswold Town Clerk Ellen Dupont, who shoveled herself out and made it to work Thursday.

At the Tractor Supply Co. off Route 138, the scene was calm. Customers were scarce, and snow wasn’t the problem. It was equipment breakdowns.

“Usually they’re a very slow item, but people are afraid their roofs would cave in,” Caplet said.

The snowfall total for January is 50 inches, breaking the town’s previous January record of 48 inches.
— Compiled by Matthew L. Brown

Colchester
In Colchester, the roof of a storage building at 35 Fedus Road collapsed Thursday morning, a casualty of heavy snow.

The damaged structure, in the rear of the property, is owned by John Fedus, according to town assessment records. The property also is the listed address for Frank Fedus & Sons Construction. There were no injuries, according to First Selectman Gregg Schuster.

“The building official has been out to the site, but there’s not much to be done, because we can’t get to the building because of snow,” he said.

Thursday afternoon, some roofs of homes and businesses had been cleared of snow. The Colchester building department suggests snow should be removed from flat roofs and porch roofs.
— Compiled by Ryan Blessing

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